The 21-year-old says some songs on his chart-topping LP were written when he was a teen

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Jeff Benjamin

10/17/14

George Ezra dropped his debut full-length Wanted on Voyage in Europe this summer where it hit No. 1 in his native UK. Following in the footsteps of fellow chart-topping Brits like Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding and Sam Smith, the 21-year-old is promoting his album around stateside and already finding success at alternative radio with his debut U.S. single "Budapest."

"So I found out people used to write ['wanted on voyage'] on their luggage when they were boarding boats, like years ago," he says, explaining the album title. "You would write 'wanted on voyage' on what you wanted [with you], and everything else would go into the cargo, and you wouldn't see it for the journey. I like the idea of people wanting the album on their journey."

George adds that while most of the album was recorded in a handful of studio sessions, some of the tracks were prepped while he was still a teen.

"There's one song on the album that I've had since I was about 16, and 'Did You Hear the Rain' [below] is quite old as well," he adds. "But the others probably came from about two or three different sessions. As an album, it flows from beginning to end, it's not like a journal...you can tell they come from the same place."

Watch the full interview above for more on Wanted on Voyage, and look out for George to continue to make waves like big-voiced male musicians Hozier and Smith did this year.